I've developed a quick system of Legendariness to turn any standard monster into a semi-legendary monster (similar to 4E's Elite and Solo classes).| Legendariness | Legendary Actions | Legendary Resistance | Proficiency increase (attacks, saves, skills, save DCs) | Hit Points | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rare | 1 (1/round) | 1/day | +1 | x2 | x2 |
| Very Rare | 2 (2/round) | 2/day | +2 | x3 | x3 |
| Legendary | 3 (3/round) | 3/day | +3 | x4 | x4 |
Examples:
The rare salamander noble has 180 hit points, an attack bonus of +7, legendary resistance 1/day, and 1 legendary action: make a tail attack. 3,600 XP
The rare thri-kreen champion has 66 hit points, attacks of +4, legendary resistance 1/day, and 1 legendary action: leap up to 30 feet and make a claw attack. 400 XP. (The legendary action incorporates movement because it's more interesting and because the claw attack ain't that great.)
The very rare ankheg queen has 117 hit points, and has an attack bonus of +7 and her acid spray DC is 15. She has 2/day legendary resistance, and 2 legendary actions: automatically damage a grappled creature; spray acid (costs 2 actions). 1,350 XP. (The grapple damage is automatic because it requires her to have already grappled a creature first.)
The legendary Grimlock High King, who is said to dwell so deep in the underdark that sunlight has never shone in his throne room, has 44 hit points, +8 to hit and a Passive Perception of 16 (pretty decent for an NPC), 3/day legendary resistance, and 3 legendary actions: make a single attack; search; move his speed and then hide. 200 XP. (The move+hide is 1 action because even when they are combined it's pretty hard for him to use, plus he has no ranged attacks so it's not such a great move in general.)
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At a high level, the system is meant to simulate fighting multiple creatures, which is why the hit points and XP are a simple multiplier. It's similar to the Angry GM's double/triple/quadruple creatures, but less literal because the legendary actions are spread over the life of the creature and the legendary resistance can kick in whenever you need it to. Plus you can get creative with the Legendary Actions, to make the fight more interesting and reinforce the monster's signature traits.
I have no idea how well this jives with the DMG's guidelines on creating monsters, and applying it to certain creatures in the Monster Manual produces weird results. For example, applying these rules to a young dragon typically produces a creature with way more hit points than an adult dragon, but less damage output. It was more important to me that the system be simple enough to apply on-the-fly.
What do you guys think?
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